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I can't help but be amused by these people claiming that 70F or 80F can be cold or that they can be in the least bit chilled. I don't mean to demean you all, but it is just so foreign to my experience. I have to agree more with Sophie's post, in that in hot weather a wind is a "breeze", and not a "chill".
As for wind chills, generally in Canada they're used when it's below freezing, in the U.S. some outlets use it if the wind chill is 49F or lower (NWS, myself), and some use it if it's 40F or lower (TWC). The wind chill is undefined above 50F, and for a good reason. Though you can still get results from the formula, above 50F the formula really breaks down as a description of the chilling effect of wind, almost by necessity since it's designed and works well in cold temperatures, and the same formula can't be expected to work across such a wide temperature range. It's sort of like muggy weather at the low end of the scale that makes it feel hotter not being registered by the heat index (the humidex, on the other hand...). In my own weather reports I include a wind chill if it's 49F or lower, and a heat index if it's 70F or higher, and a humidex if it's 70F or higher or if it's 50F or higher if the humidex is higher than the air temperature.
I myself feel a wind chill only through the 40's - past 50F or so, there's definitely nothing there that I'd say is a wind chill. Even then if there's a big wind and it's 48F the wind chill might be 30F which I regularly take on with no problem whatsoever. Past 48F or so it really depends on sun or shade - cooling breezes are felt much more strongly in the shade at these temperatures, whereas in the sun the cooling breeze goes to take the edge off the solar-induced heating. In the 50's the wind chill effect is really gone, but a breeze does feel quite cool and refreshing, and the warming effect of sunshine is easily mitigated or even overwhelmed with a bit of a breeze. In the 60's Fahrenheit a breeze still feels cooling in the shade, but usually even the biggest breeze doesn't cool me off in sunlight. Still, it prevents me from getting toasted by the strong sun . Cooling breezes continue until 20C or so. Past that any cooling effect of the breeze is pretty much over. Even with the strongest wind it still feels really warm or hot, just instead of just being warm/hot it's warm/hot and breezy. 70's Fahrenheit are sort of neutral when it comes to the breeze's effect. Past 80F or so breezes more often than not make it feel hotter for me, though it really depends. It can take a little off the heat by moving the air around (though it will still feel really hot), or feel like a soupy mixture moving around (in high humidity), and other times it feels like a hairdryer in my face.
So, basically for me, there's a wind chill up to 48F, a cooling breeze from 48F to 68F, and nothing past 68F.
I can't help but be amused by these people claiming that 70F or 80F can be cold or that they can be in the least bit chilled. I don't mean to demean you all, but it is just so foreign to my experience. I have to agree more with Sophie's post, in that in hot weather a wind is a "breeze", and not a "chill".
As for wind chills, generally in Canada they're used when it's below freezing, in the U.S. some outlets use it if the wind chill is 49F or lower (NWS, myself), and some use it if it's 40F or lower (TWC). The wind chill is undefined above 50F, and for a good reason. Though you can still get results from the formula, above 50F the formula really breaks down as a description of the chilling effect of wind, almost by necessity since it's designed and works well in cold temperatures, and the same formula can't be expected to work across such a wide temperature range. It's sort of like muggy weather at the low end of the scale that makes it feel hotter not being registered by the heat index (the humidex, on the other hand...). In my own weather reports I include a wind chill if it's 49F or lower, and a heat index if it's 70F or higher, and a humidex if it's 70F or higher or if it's 50F or higher if the humidex is higher than the air temperature.
I myself feel a wind chill only through the 40's - past 50F or so, there's definitely nothing there that I'd say is a wind chill. Even then if there's a big wind and it's 48F the wind chill might be 30F which I regularly take on with no problem whatsoever. Past 48F or so it really depends on sun or shade - cooling breezes are felt much more strongly in the shade at these temperatures, whereas in the sun the cooling breeze goes to take the edge off the solar-induced heating. In the 50's the wind chill effect is really gone, but a breeze does feel quite cool and refreshing, and the warming effect of sunshine is easily mitigated or even overwhelmed with a bit of a breeze. In the 60's Fahrenheit a breeze still feels cooling in the shade, but usually even the biggest breeze doesn't cool me off in sunlight. Still, it prevents me from getting toasted by the strong sun . Cooling breezes continue until 20C or so. Past that any cooling effect of the breeze is pretty much over. Even with the strongest wind it still feels really warm or hot, just instead of just being warm/hot it's warm/hot and breezy. 70's Fahrenheit are sort of neutral when it comes to the breeze's effect. Past 80F or so breezes more often than not make it feel hotter for me, though it really depends. It can take a little off the heat by moving the air around (though it will still feel really hot), or feel like a soupy mixture moving around (in high humidity), and other times it feels like a hairdryer in my face.
So, basically for me, there's a wind chill up to 48F, a cooling breeze from 48F to 68F, and nothing past 68F.
I agree with your numbers - that's really how I feel about cooling breezes. Although I should say that temps below 55 or so do feel a bit chilly to me if it's damp - seems cool moist air chills more than cool, dry air. I'd still not call it "wind chill" though.
And hot winds, don't get me started on that - that just makes the heat worse. Like the time I stepped outside at 3:30 am into a hard wind at 86 degrees - it honestly felt like I was standing at the front gate of hell. An experience I do NOT care to repeat again...
I agree with your numbers - that's really how I feel about cooling breezes. Although I should say that temps below 55 or so do feel a bit chilly to me if it's damp - seems cool moist air chills more than cool, dry air. I'd still not call it "wind chill" though.
Interesting. The sub-55F temperatures being chilly when damp don't have anything to do with wind. That's another subject entirely. Perhaps we can call this the "dank factor" as opposed to the "wind chill factor" .
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And hot winds, don't get me started on that - that just makes the heat worse. Like the time I stepped outside at 3:30 am into a hard wind at 86 degrees - it honestly felt like I was standing at the front gate of hell. An experience I do NOT care to repeat again...
That incident is a prime example of the hot wind effect I mentioned. Weather like that (be it 03:30 or 15:30) is what I call "hairdryer conditions". Being over 100F with a gale-force wind in daytime or 30C with a big wind overnight are pretty pure examples of these conditions.
In the shade, a temperature around 26C or lower with a strong breeze can feel quite cool (enough to give me goosebumps ). The combination of warm air temperatures and a 'chill' to the air most commonly occurs here during late spring/early summer where the sea breezes are at there strongest.
I'm basing my experiences off when I've been to warmer climates and found that even at temperatures of 28°C a breeze was very refreshing and took the edge off the warmth.
That's what the question is about and that is my anecdotal experience and answer. A windy day can feel cold to me, and I actually mean cold, with an air temperature as warm as 17-18°C (63-65°F) and full on sunshine in summer, as in July 2011. I remember walking on the exposed hills around here and at that temperature it was just too windy to feel comfortable and I needed a hat and coat not to get too cold. Terrible summer, 2011.
Location: The Valley Of The Sun just east of Canberra
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27C/80F is my limit for coolness, not chill. For chill (i.e. when you would be uncomfortable in a t-shirt), 20C/68F and a gale is the absolute maximum.
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. Cooling breezes continue until 20C or so. Past that any cooling effect of the breeze is pretty much over. Even with the strongest wind it still feels really warm or hot, just instead of just being warm/hot it's warm/hot and breezy. 70's Fahrenheit are sort of neutral when it comes to the breeze's effect. Past 80F or so breezes more often than not make it feel hotter for me, though it really depends. It can take a little off the heat by moving the air around (though it will still feel really hot), or feel like a soupy mixture moving around (in high humidity), and other times it feels like a hairdryer in my face.
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). The combination of warm air temperatures and a 'chill' to the air most commonly occurs here during late spring/early summer where the sea breezes are at there strongest.
